Investing.com – Crude oil prices settled higher on Friday as investors shrugged off the outcome of an Opec-led meeting in which oil producers failed to reach a decision to extend the production-cut agreement.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for November delivery rose 11 cents to settle at $50.66 a barrel, while on London's Intercontinental Exchange, Brent gained 27 cents to trade at $56.70 a barrel.
As was widely expected, members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and other major producers failed to reach a decision to extend output cuts beyond March 2018.
Russia’s energy minister suggested that January is the earliest date that an extension to the global accord can be considered, as it allows ample time to assess the state of the market.
"I believe that January is the earliest date when we can actually, credibly speak about the state of the market," Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said. Other ministers suggested a decision could come this year.
In May, Opec and non-Opec members agreed to extend production cuts of 1.8m barrels per day for a period of nine months until March 2018 but rising production from the U.S., Nigeria and Libya has undermined the oil cartel’s efforts to curb excess supply.
The committee issued a bullish outlook on compliance, however, highlighting that oil producing nations participating in the global accord to cut output reached record monthly compliance. Opec and non-opec compliance with the deal to curb output rose to 116% in August, the committee said, a strong increase from the 94% compliance achieved a month ago.
In the U.S., market participants mulled over data showing the number of U.S. oil rigs continued to decline suggesting a possible tightening in domestic production.
Oilfield services firm Baker Hughes said its weekly count of oil rigs operating in the United States declined by 5 to 744.
The weekly rig count is an important barometer for the drilling industry and serves as a proxy for oil production and oil services demand.